Out for a Sunday Drive

September 29, 2008    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

    For about a week or so now I’ve been hearing about the fact that the Chilhowee lake has been drawn down so that the dam can be repaired…. and apparently it’s a sight to behold.  Holly and I (and the Albino Bowler of course)decided to venture out today for a little Sunday drive and check it out for ourselves.  Turns out there was definitely a spectacle… oh, and the lake being down was interesting as well.  I was not prepared for the hordes of curious onlookers… evidently we Blount Countians don’t have a lot to do in the time between the summer lake season and the fall colors.  Literally every pull off was flooded with people taking in the sight of a missing lake.
    One particular thing of interest is the old 129 road bed that is now visible.  This stretch of roadway has actually been underwater for about 51 years, and if you’re so inclined, you can scamper down the rocks, brave the undoubtedly deep mud, and take a walk down memory lane.  One word of advice though, you might wait a couple weeks… or a month… it really stinks right now.  The lake is currently scheduled to remain in this state until early 2009, so if you’re not keen on the smell of the elephant cages at the zoo… I’d hold off for a bit until all that lake bottom mud dries out a bit. 

    When you do go though (and I’d say it’s worth the trip if you’re up for a little drive), be on the lookout for old cars that have found their way to the bottom… all by themselves I’m sure.  I’m pretty confident someone handy with a metal detector might find some old relics worth rescuing as well.  Just a thought.

     Chilhowee Lake also happens to be at the end of what the locals call “Deal’s Gap”, “The Tail of the Dragon”, or just “The Dragon”… an 11 mile stretch of road jam-packed full of 318 curves, at the end of which is another place of interest in the area; Fontana Dam.  Holly and I were enjoying our day out and about, so we continued on up the road.  This drive isn’t for the faint of heart though… or more appropriately the faint of… umm err… stomach.  This is the mother of all car sickness roads!  Also, another word of advice, this road is a playground for motorcycles from all over the country, so don’t be surprised if look in your rearview mirror and see a herd of sport bikes wanting to get by… be nice and pull off when its safe for all parties involved.

    One really nice thing about this drive is that there are quite a few mountain lakes up here.  TVA has built a series of power-producing dams all along this route, which make for some nice pictures (of the lakes… not the dams.  Well… them too).  I recommend taking your time and checking out what the many overlooks have to offer.

    If you’ve got a little more time, as we did, drive on out to Fontana Dam and have a look around.  Fontana lake is absolutely beautiful, and the dam visitor center has a lot of dam information that’s pretty, umm… darn interesting (the jokes are free people)… if you’re into dams of course.

– Dan Thompson

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2008 Hot Air Balloon Festival

September 28, 2008    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

      For the 5th year in a row, Pellissippi State Technical Community College put on a Hot Air Balloon Festival.  The festival consists of all manner of musicians, arts and crafts vendors, and of course, hot air balloons.
     Balloon pilots from all over the country come to the college to put on a show for the crowd.  Visitors can enjoy tethered balloon rides, watch the balloon race lift-off, or hang around after dark for the “Glow”, which consists of a choreographed light display set to patriotic and popular hit songs.  Pretty neat stuff.
    My wife Holly and I have some how managed to miss the past 4 years, so this year we loaded up with the Albino Bowler and drove down to check out the event.  Much to our dismay though, the wind was not playing nice and so only three balloonists had their balloons aired up for display.  It did prove to be a nice relaxing time however, and a chance to get an up close view of some hot air balloons.  Oh well… there is always next year, right?

– Dan Thompson

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Islamorada underwater extravaganza!

September 24, 2008    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

 Day 4:  We went snorkeling today but the current was too strong to take the bowler out and get pictures.  When we got back, we took a few funny pictures in the pool at the hotel.  The Bowler decided he wanted to climb up a tree and get a good look at the ocean.  I got a few really good pictures of the sea life while snorkeling.  I am still getting a feel for this mask / camera.  It is very hard to line up shots with it.  Tomorrow is Scuba diving so there will be some great pictures!

Day 5:    We woke up early today and ate breakfast at the hotel.  I was excited because I am finally going to get to scuba dive which is something I’ve never gotten to do before.  I put the bowler in my pocket and we drove to the Holiday Inn where we were meeting our trainers (Jason and Heather).  We met them at the Holiday Inn pool and they showed us how to put together our scuba gear.  We got into the pool and they showed us to use the respirator.  They also taught us to clear our mask from being full of water, how to get your respirator back in your mouth if it were to be knocked out somehow, and how to tell another diver if you are out of air.  We took a lunch break and met the trainers again later in the day to do the real thing.

    We got onto the scuba boat with about 15 other people and the captain took us to the first dive site.  We went down to about 30 feet (the bottom) to see the coral.  Heather and Jason showed us around and took us to some cool stuff underwater.  There was a ton of fish, lobsters, and eels all around us.  The first dive lasted about 45 or 50 mins.  I was running low on air so we had to go back to the surface.  We all loaded up in the boat again and went to the 2nd dive site. 
   We went through the same procedure again and saw some more cool stuff.  I took the bowler out and got some amazing underwater pictures.  After we were done diving, we got back on the boat.  It was by far the most fun thing I’ve ever done on vacation.  On the way back to the dock, the bowler found himself a girlfriend. :)
Day 6:  Today is the last day of vacation and it is sad.  I will be happy to get home though.  I went fishing today and caught a 25 pound Kingfish.  About 10 minutes later, my brother caught a giant barracuda.  We ended up having a ton of fun on vacation this year.  The bowler had lots of good pictures and has now been to the entire Keys.  Everywhere from Islamorada to Key West.

– Zac McKinney

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Day 1:  We finally got to Islamorada and before we got to check into the hotel, we went to Theater of the Sea to swim with dolphins.  There were tons of animals at the park including some dolphins, parrots, sea turtles, sea lions, and big fish.  Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me take The Albino Bowler with me to swim with the dolphins for fear that they’d eat him so he had to sit that one out but I did manage to get a good picture with him and some parrots.  After we finished swimming with the dolphins, we went to our hotel.  It is really nice and has 2 heated pools and 1 Jacuzzi!
Day 2:  We woke up and ate breakfast.  I put on my swimming trunks and we got on a charter boat to go fishing with 6 other people.  The Bowler had a great time out on the water and just chilled out while everyone caught fish.  Unfortunately, at the end of our trip, the Bowler had an accident and a fish tried to eat him.  Luckily, I was able to rescue him while taking a picture of his ordeal.  :)  
Day 3:  I slept late today and it’s a good thing, my sunburn is killing me.  I put on lots of sunblock and we went to play mini golf on the way to Key West (it was an 80 mile drive from where our hotel is).  The Bowler decided he wanted to play too.  I got a green golf ball because it matched his shirt.  After we were done playing golf, we drove the rest of the way to Key West.  The first stop was the most southern point in the USA.  There is a huge buoy on the ground to let you know.  The Bowler of course had to take this rare moment to get his picture taken.  The next stop was Jimmy Buffett’s famous Margaritaville restaurant.  I got a frozen strawberry margarita (best one I’ve ever had btw) and let the Bowler have a few sips.  We went back to the hotel and soaked it up in the pool afterwards.

– Zac McKinney

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    Today was the first day of vacation.  We made it to the airport at about 3:30pm today.  We had to wait to check our luggage so I started reading “I am Legend” by David Masterson.  I managed to get through a nice 57 pages before it was time to go eat.  The Albino Bowler was excited once we boarded the plane because he got to come out of his box.  It was a two hour flight so about 1.5 hours into it, I took the bowler out and started taking some pictures.  He apparently doesn’t like to fly because he got sick and needed a barf bag.  We landed at Fort Lauderdale at 7:30 and got our rental car (White Rav-4).  Gas is less expensive down here but still not cheap (3.50 a gallon).  Once we got to our hotel, the Bowler was tired so he laid down and went to sleep.

– Zac Mckinney

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Albino Bowler is in Florida!

September 22, 2008    Category: Upcoming Events   No Comments »

The Albino Bowler will be in Florida with Chris Walker and his family!

Run Through The Hills 4

September 15, 2008    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

     For the last 4 years, pro-touring.com and musclerides.com have joined forces to put on an awesome event up in the Pigeon Forge area.  For this year’s event, I took the Albino Bowler with me so he could get in on some of the action.

    What started as 11 guys getting together to hang out, talk shop, and cruise around through the mountains in their pro-touring style rides has turned into something a little bigger now… okay, it’s much bigger.  This year there was some 50+ cars entered into the event, which consists of a lot more then sitting around a parking lot.  This ain’t your typical car show.
    The premise behind what is referred to as a pro-touring style of build, is a car that does everything well.  These cars can go fast in a straight line just as easily as they can go around a corner.  Mash on the brakes… and get ready to stop on a dime, oh.. and all the while look good doing it.  These are not race cars we’re talking about here though, a lot of the cars have air conditioning and stereos as well as other creature comforts you’d look for in a street car.  Now, you may find a some roll cages in these cars, but talk to the owners and it’s safety first (seatbelt technology was not exactly wonderful in the ’60s)… not to mention it adds more than a little rigidity to the chassis.
    So what all does this event consist of?  Well the event starts off Friday night with “Bill’s Back Roads Boogie” which is a spirited drive through some of Tennessee’s notoriously twisty roads.  Attendees in the event vying for top bragging rights must participate in the cruise to prove that the car is in fact a street car (the cruise generally lasts over an hour or more).  The cruise ends at some predetermined restaurant for some dinner and fellowship.  Although this is a competitive event, you wouldn’t know it by the atmosphere.  It’s obvious that the guys that come out every year value the hangout and shop talk time just as much as they do the actual racing, which makes for a great time, especially when you throw in the fact that the vendors are just as into the hang out time as anyone else.  Pull up a chair next to Kyle Tucker, owner of Detroit Speed and Engineering, and fire away with as much suspension talk as you’d like.  He, as well as the other vendors, are up to the challenge.

    As mentioned before, the event is more than just a hangout, and the real action starts on Saturday.  Saturday’s event is the Auto-X.  If you’re not familiar with the idea, basically you find a big parking lot, throw in a bunch of cones arranged with a nasty set of turns and straight aways, add in some fancy timing lights, and you’ve got yourself a mini-road course that can provide hours of tire squealing  entertainment.  The Albino Bowler jumped in and helped out as a cone judge (the drivers get deducted time points for hitting cones)… but quickly decided that might be a little too close to the action.

    On Sunday, it’s time for some good old fashioned drag racing.  For the purposes of the competition, it’s all about ET’s and reaction times.  The kicker is that you’ve got to run on the same tires you used for the cruise and the auto-x… which requires a bit of strategy, and keeps things interesting.  In the end, a total of points was counted up for all events, and one person was named ‘King of the Hill’.  The great thing about it is you can bet that title will be heavily contested again next year!  See you then!

 

– Dan Thompson

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Ummm… can I come home now???

September 6, 2008    Category: Albino Bowler   No Comments »

     Okay this is silly, it is time for me to come home.. as much as I enjoy her company she is taking me everywhere.. which is cool for a guy like me ’cause I get to meet all types of people..but seriously she took me to the Village People last night.. I can’t do the YMCA so it was awkward..   Although she did mention tailgating and some orange might be in my future if I can’t get a ride home.

    So the the last two weeks have been fun since we have been back in Knox-Vegas..
    I think there was unpacking and then repacking to go out to Norris Lake for the long weekend.. you might see my tremendous tubing skills.    She was a little afraid to let me go boarding.. personally I think she was worried I would put her moves to shame.. duh..I did just float around for a while I think everyone thought that was safer.. since my life jacket is still in a box at Dans..    So this past week was uneventful.. grillin’ and chillin’ and then last night she got some VIP tix to the Village People.. sweet.. I thought it would be fun so off we went.. I am not sure those are ALL the originals.. but it was fun and  scary at the same time.. Chaps and a headdress?? wow.. but we had fun until well the whole YMCA things was a debacle.. but hey I had a gyro at the end pf the night so who can complain.

    Okay I have to get out of here.. she’s going to a going away party and needs to make some photo montage.. do you think it will have me in it.. I am such a camera hog..

Cherrio Peeps

– Erin Donovan

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